secondhand account
Not firsthand testimony
A secondhand account is a description of events provided by someone who wasn't present—information passed along rather than witnessed directly.
The term often implies reduced reliability: That's just a secondhand account; I'd rather hear it from someone who was there.
Contrast with firsthand account.
- hearsayUnverified secondhand information
- word of mouthInformation passed through conversation
- rumorUnconfirmed circulating story
- gossipInformal talk spreading rumors
- testimonySworn statement as evidence
witness · retelling · narrative · unreliable · whisper · grapevine · telephone game · story · tall tale · fish story · urban legend · passed · filtered · distorted · version · told · heard · third hand
- gossiprumor, rumors, gossip, hearsay, whisper
- proofevidence, verification, attestation, corroboration, certification
- testimonyoral testimony, court testimony, sworn testimony, witness statements, sworn statements
- ways of knowingintuition, reason, logic, analysis, perception
secondhand accountfirsthand account
Report from direct experience
eyewitness testimony · eyewitness account · personal account · direct observation · eyewitness report
secondhand accountprimary source
Unmediated evidence from events
direct evidence · documentary evidence · raw data · primary evidence · official record
second, secondhand, account, accounts, accounted, accounting, accountant, accountable, accountability